AllMovie

As a rip-roaring Western, Buffalo Bill is fine entertainment; as a serious biography of one of the legends of the Wild West, it falls a little short. If director William Wellman's later comments are to be believed (and there seems to be little reason to disbelieve them), he intended the film to be a more realistic look at the title character, one which questioned more of his actions and motives and which took a more cynical look at the entire white man-Indian conflict of the time. Unfortunately, as 20th Century Fox's second-most expensive production of the year, there was a great incentive to play it safe and protect the investment, so much of the bite has been removed from the film. While this has really only a minor effect for most of the film, it does pave the way for the ending, one of the most blatantly manipulative and mawkish endings imaginable and one which will induce laughter in many modern viewers. There are other aspects that may be problematic for modern audiences, including the traditional use of white actors as native Americans and substantial cruelty toward the buffalo used in filming this epic. These caveats aside, Bill does provide good entertainment on a superficial level, with generally fine performances and with expert adventure-style direction from Wellman.